resolution

Resolution is the movement from a dissonant, tense sound to a consonant, stable one. It is the fundamental mechanism of forward motion in tonal music — tension followed by release, question followed by answer. Without resolution, dissonance would be merely harsh; with it, dissonance becomes expressive. The most basic resolution in Western music is the dominant-to-tonic progression (V–I), where the leading tone resolves up to the tonic and the seventh resolves down. Composers create drama by delaying or subverting expected resolutions. Wagner built entire operas on chains of unresolved dissonances, and the famous Tristan chord hangs unresolved for hours before finally reaching its destination.